Land of Dust and Bones: The Secret Apocalypse Book 7 by James Harden Read Free Book Online Page B

struggle.
    “Which way?” Kenji asks.
    Billy points down the road. “This way. We
need to follow the road for a bit. Then we’ll find a trail. The trail leads
west. Into the sun. It will lead us to the oasis.”

 

Chapter 7

 
    We follow the road for most of the day.
It’s not until we turn off the road, on to a non-existent dirt track, that fear
and paranoia begin to set in. To make matters worse, we are now walking into
the sun. The light is blinding. I can’t help but think this is the perfect time
and place for a trap, for an ambush.
    Billy leads the way. Kenji is close behind,
his rifle armed and ready in case Billy tries anything.
    Sarah and I are bringing up the rear.
    “Do you think he’s lying?” I ask Sarah.
    “About what?”
    “About the oasis.”
    “No. He’s telling the truth.”
    “How do you know?”
    “I’ve gotten pretty good at reading people.
Don’t know why. I think it’s a survival thing. Something inherent to humans.
Something we evolved to become good at. You know, like, back in the Stone Age,
back when we lived in caves, we needed to know if people were lying to us, or
leading us away from the pack, leading us away to isolate and kill us.”
    “Why the hell would you say that?” I ask.
“That’s kind of exactly what’s happening right now.”
    “Nah. This is different. We were already
separated. We were already alone. Billy needs us and we need him. There’s water
close by.”
    She had a good point. But I still feel
uneasy about the whole thing.
    “I wish I could read people,” I say.
    “You can. You just have to trust your gut,
your instincts. Your first impression of the situation. We all have that sense,
and it’s pretty good at telling us when we’re in danger.”
    Big Ben once told me he used to get a cold
feeling in his gut when something bad was about to go down. And now that I
think back, maybe I do have this ability. It might not be as finely tuned as
I’d like it to be, but it was there. The worrying thing is, right now, my gut
is telling me something is wrong. I just can’t figure out what.
    “Well, you know what my instincts are
telling me?” I say, voicing my concerns.
    “What?”
    “My instincts are telling me not to trust
this guy.”
    “That’s good.”
    “Huh?”
    “You shouldn’t trust him. You don’t even
know him. Remember what I told you down in the Fortress. Trust no one.”
    “We’re trusting you now.”
    “That’s because you need me. Just like you
needed me down there. You didn’t have a choice then, and you don’t have a
choice now. But the door swings both ways. It’s give and take. It’s a mutual
benefit thing.”
    “Mutual?”
    “Yeah. You need me. I need you.”
    “What do you need us for?”
    “Protection,” she answers, motioning with
her head towards Kenji. “It’s a lot safer travelling with a soldier. And in a
group.”
    Kim was right. She is using us for
protection to travel through the desert. Safety in numbers. What was her plan?
What would she do when we arrived at the town? Would she screw us over, would
she betray us like she did before?
    “So, are you saying we shouldn’t trust
you?” I ask.
    “No. I’m saying you have no choice.”
    “Just like we don’t have a choice now with
this guy?”
    “Exactly. We need water. And this guy knows
where to get it.”
    “So we need to trust him?”
    “No. Trust no one.”
    “Wait. I’m getting confused. I thought you
said he was telling the truth?”
    “He’s telling the truth about the water.”
    “How do you know?”
    “I could see it in his eyes. And the way he
described it. He’s been there. And he wants to get back. He needs to get back. He’s just as dead as
we are if we don’t get there.”
    I think about this. And I guess Sarah is
right. Billy needs water.
    After a while Sarah says, “But there’s
something… I don’t know what. That smile of his…”
    “What about his smile?”
    “He was so happy to see us.”
    “Of course he